The decision, revealed during a recent interview, threatens to put
the front-running candidate, who is one of the wealthiest men ever to
run for the White House, on the back foot heading into the start of the
2012 primary season, which begins with this weekend's Iowa Caucuses.

Almost
every would-be President since the 1970s has published their tax
return, but Romney announced that he intended to forego that opportunity
during an interview with Chuck Todd of MSNBC. He did not seek to
justify the decision, but said merely: "I don't intend to release the
tax returns. I don't."

The comments were edited out of the
interview before broadcast last week, but emerged during extended
footage aired at the weekend. Asked about the issue on the campaign
trail, Romney added: "We follow the tax laws, and if there's an
opportunity to save taxes, we, like everybody else in this country, will
follow that opportunity."